On the Road to Recovery?

After more than three months of getting a negative standing on my overall investment portfolio at the Philippines stock market (it went down to -13%), at last, my overall investment portfolio is now on its positive standing ... not that big margin though but at least if ever I sell all my positions today, I would be gaining on my investment.

Is this the start of stock market recovery?  Well, let's wait and see.

My Personal Stock Trading Goals

If we want to succeed in anything that we do, we need to set our goals so we can plan our actions to reach that goal.  It's just plain and simple ... we won’t know what to do if we don’t know what we want.

Same thing with stock trading, in order for us to develop an effective trading strategy, we need to set our goals first and it should be measurable and simple.  It is easier to develop a trading strategy if our goals are measurable and simple.

At first I don’t have measurable goals in my trading, all I want is to earn but later on I developed my trading goals which are measurable and simple.  Here are the two trading goals which I set:

a.       To trade stocks without losing any centavo in any transaction ... this may raise the eyebrows of a lot of stock traders out there but I have set it as my goal and so far I have satisfied this goal in all my transactions.

b.      To make a profit of 400 pesos minimum in any trade.  

Your goal may be different from mine but what is important is you have set your goal and you are happy with it.  From there you can develop the trading strategy that will help you achieve your trading goals.

The Convenience of Off-hours Order

At present, trading hours at the Philippines Stock Market is from 9:30 AM to 12:10 PM and most of the time during this hours I'm busy with the household chores and sometimes I have to attend to some important matters away from home so I can't really attend to my on-line trading at the stock market.  When I was still working, our company has blocked the website for stock trading so there's really no way I can check on my portfolio.

Good thing, my broker Citiseconline has a feature wherein I can make orders even if the market is already closed.  This is what they call "Off-hours Order" or "After Trade Orders".  The orders (buy or sell) entered using off-hours order will be queued on the next trading day and once the price you set will be matched then a transaction will be made and recorded.

This off-hours order is really helpful for those who can't go on-line during trading hours so check on your on-line stock broker if they have this feature.  For Citiseconline clients, you can access this "Off-hours Order" by logging in to your account then click on your "Trade/Portfolio" then click "Off-hours Order".  A preview order button will be opened so just fill it out and enter your password to complete the order.  You can check the orders you have entered on "Off-hours Order" by clicking on the "Off-hours View/Cancel" button.

Happy investing/trading everyone.

How to Open a Citiseconline Account

If you are decided to invest/trade in Philippines Stock Market, it is now time to open an account with a stock broker.  One of the top stock brokers in the market today is Citiseconline and since I started investing/trading in the Philippines Stock Market, I had tapped their services and so far, I’m happy with them.

Opening an account with Citiseconline is easy.  Just print and fill-out the forms which are available in their website and submit it to their customer service center together with a copy of any government issued IDs at 2403-B, East Tower, Philippine Stock Exchange Center, Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines.  You may let a representative submit the documents on your behalf, just submit any billing or bank statements.

After you have submitted the documents, just wait for the approval of your account which takes from one to two days.  A Citiseconline representative will contact you and you will be given your user ID and your initial password ... you can already deposit your initial fund which is a minimum of 25,000 pesos for regular accounts at any BPI, BDO and Metrobank branches.  Once your fund is already credited to your account (you can check this by logging in to Citiseconline website using your user ID and password), you can now start trading/investing in the stock market.

Happy investing/trading everyone.

Trading in the Stock Market

Trading in the stock market is just like buying and selling.  You buy stocks when the price is low and sell it when you already realize the profit you have targetted from it. There is no physical products involved, just the computer, internet connection and the broker's trading platform (this is applicable for on-line trading).

I'm not a professional stock trader who uses graphs and indicators to enter or exit a certain trade but I have developed my own strategy and so far, I'm earning decently from my trades although I don't earn daily but overall, at the end of the year, I am able to profit 30% to 40% of my capital.  Doesn't sound much for professional traders but for a simple mother who wants to augment the family's income, it's already a big thing for me ... payment for insurance premiums and other family expenditures which I don't need to get from my husband's pay check.

Aside from the earnings that I get from stock trading, I also enjoy exercising my skills on planning and decision making in making my trades, it just makes my mind working and I love it.

What is important in stock trading is that you have your plan and you have the fund so you can execute your plan but always remember this, trade only the extra money that you have ... not the money for your family's monthly budget, not the money for emergency purposes and most of all not the money that you have borrowed.